The present invention relates to a heat-exchanging system for an enclosed space, which is adapted to control the temperature inside a space by utilizing the inner surfaces defining and enclosingly surrounding the space, or to a heat-exchanging system for heating or cooling an interior space of a building, such as a room provided with a swimming pool, a refrigerated storage volume, a portable refrigerator, or a public bath. More particularly, the present invention relates to a heat-exchanging system wherein a refrigerant, such as warm water or cold water, is permitted to run down, or flow along, the inner surfaces of the walls defining the space of a building so that such inner surfaces of the enclosed space or the sidewalls of a space within a building may function as a heat exchanger for heating or cooling purposes.
Heretofore, there has been proposed a heating system such as illustrated in FIG. 1 for heating a room provided with a swimming pool. Therein, 1 indicates a building provided with an indoor swimming pool 2 formed in the floor thereof. Floor 3, which is preferably concrete, adjacent the pool has embedded therein a heating pipe 4 of a zigzag formation. Both ends of pipe 4 are connected to one side of a conventional heat exchanger 5. Within the passage connecting pipe 4 and heat exchanger 5 there is provided, in series, a pump 6 for circulating the particular refrigerant. The opposite side of heat exchanger 5 is connected to a boiler 7. The operation of pump 6 causes the refrigerant within pipe 4 to circulate in the direction indicated by an arrow in FIG. 1 through said one side of heat exchanger 5. The circulation of the refrigerant heats the floor within which there is embedded the pipe, and raises the surface temperature thereof. The heated floor surface is then caused to emit heat rays, which radiation heats the swimming room.
Such a system is referred to as a heated-water floor panel heating system and is effective in elevating the average radiation temperature as such employs warm water as refrigerant. But the same is not free from the following deficiencies:
(a) The initial cost is very high and it limits the equipment area.
(b) There is the danger that water may leak from the embedded pipe.
(c) As this system heats the floor surface indirectly from within the concrete, it is required to maintain the temperature of the water circulating within the pipe at about 40.degree. C. to 45.degree. C. in order to maintain the floor surface warm enough for radiation heating. This means that this system fails to utilize thermal energy efficiently and that the operation thereof is quite costly and, therefore, is uneconomical.
The present invention effectively solves the above noted problems. An object is to provide an economical heat-exchanging system requiring limited initial cost for an enclosed space, wherein a liquid refrigerant is directly permitted to flow over the surfaces defining such enclosed space, within the enclosed space, so that the same function as a heat-exchanging means, whereby it is possible to achieve an efficient and economical use of energy for heating or cooling of the enclosed space.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a heat-exchanging system which is easy to install since any confining sidewall can be used as a heat-exchanging means for the related space.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an economical heating system of limited initial cost for an indoor swimming pool, whereby a heat source for radiation heating of such swimming pool and the surrounding room may be developed in an economical and facile manner by causing the warm water of a heated swimming pool to be directly applied to the surrounding confronting side wall surfaces for flowing thereover.